Quakes, Sixers and more

Main menu

Post navigation

Pitching a casualty as Quakes beat 66ers, 13-12

Arrowhead Credit Union Park is known as a pitcher’s park, but Thursday it didn’t look like it.

The Quakes and 66ers combined for 25 runs and 32 hits and the Quakes rallied from an early 7-1 deficit, then held off the Sixers for a 13-12 victory.

The Quakes won with only one extra-base hit, Mark Trumbo’s team-leading 17th home run leading off the fourth, and 16 singles. The Sixers had Scott Van Slyke’s first home run, but also had three doubles and a triple among their 15 hits.

The Quakes led 11-7 and 13-10, but had to hold off the Sixers, who scored five runs in the final two innings.

Trailing 13-10 in the ninth, Austin Gallagher doiubled and Tommy Giles singled against Bobby Cassevah, who earned his first save in his first save opportunity, but not without some stress.

Two outs later, Christian Lara singled to left to score Giles and make it 13-12. That’s when an odd thing happened, that I have never seen before in 18 years of covering this league.

With hitting coach Henry Cruz away from the team, outfielder Ryan Rogowski was coaching first. Rogowski changed positions with Lara, serving as a pinch runner while Lara took over coaching first. Jaime Pedroza struck out to end the game, however.

All 18 starting hitters for both teams had a hit. Eight of nine Sixers (exception being Justin Fuller) had an RBI and a run scored. Every Quake had a run and an RBI except Flint Wipke (no run), Larry Infante (no RBI) and Anthony Norman (no RBI).

There were only four errors in the game, not an obsene number, but those errors combined for five unearned runs.

Sixers reliever Joe Jones (2-3), who allowed all eight of the Quakes runs in a eight-run sixth (six were earned), saw his ERA rise from 2.96 to 4.11. Quakes starter Sean O’Sullivan (8-4) was the winner in the game, but still saw his ERA rise from 5.90 to 6.35 as he allowed seven earned runs in five innings.

Six of the nine pitchers allowed runs — only the Quakes’ Brian Chambers and the Sixers’ David Pfeiffer and Jordan Pratt did not allow runs.